The Columbia International University Board of Trustees added two members with diverse backgrounds in ministry. They are The Rev. James Dixon, the president of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and Chikong Shue, the chairman and president of SDSC Global Foundation and CentriHall Chinese Christian Education Services, non-profits focusing on high-quality evangelical theological education through e-learning.

The Rev. James Dixon has been in ministry for 35 years and has pastored five churches. He currently serves as pastor of El-Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Md. Dixon has been involved with the SBC at the national, state and local level. Dixon also currently serves as vice president of the Centre Point Counseling Center in Maryland, and is the director of the Antioch Institute that trains African-American leaders in establishing self-supporting churches.

Dixon is originally from Alabama and received an Associate of Science degree from Lawson State Junior College and a Bachelor’s degree from Samford University, both in Birmingham, Ala. He is also a graduate of Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. where he received a Master of Divinity Degree.

Chikong Shue has an extensive background in computer science and network operations. Prior to his current nonprofit work, Shue was the executive vice president at Sycamore Networks, and co-founder and vice president at Cascade Communications. Both start-ups had successful IPOs on NASDAQ.

Born in Taiwan, Shue received a B.S.E.E. from ChiaoTung University in Taiwan in 1974, and Master of Science degrees in both Computer Sciences and Operations Research from the Pennsylvania State University. He has been honored with the Asian-American Achievement Award from University of Massachusetts for his contributions to the economic and social development of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Penn State’s Outstanding Science Alumni Award. Shue serves as an elder at the Chinese Bible Church of Greater Lowell, Mass. and is a board member at several missions organizations.